On May 3, 2024, the French Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control[1] (“DGCCRF”) published its 2023 annual report (the “Report”).[2] The Report highlights the DGCCRF’s importance in cartel and other anti-competitive behavior detection in France, as well as its new roles, including taking part in the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”).[3]
On 11 April 2024, the CMA published an update paper (the Update Paper) in relation to its initial review of AI Foundation Models (FMs). An accompanying technical update report (the Technical Update Report) was published on 16 April 2024, providing further detail on market developments and feedback from stakeholder engagement. These updates follow the CMA’s September 2023 initial report into the same topic (the Initial Report).
On 22 April 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a Feedback Statement on the potential competition impacts from data asymmetry between Big Tech firms and firms in financial services. On the same day, Nikhil Rathi, the FCA’s Chief Executive, delivered a speech at the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum on ‘Navigating the UK’s Digital Regulation Landscape’.
Cleary Gottlieb counsel Cunzhen Huang and associates Huanbing Xu and Yiming Sun co-authored “China’s Review of Semiconductor Transactions,” which appeared
On 25 January 2024, the Microeconomics Unit[1] of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a report examining competition and market power in UK labour markets (the Report). The Report is the Unit’s first published work, covering developments in the labour markets over the last two decades. Over this period, labour markets have changed significantly through the rise of flexible working and the gig economy (defined as labour services contracted through digital platforms), changes in restrictive covenants (contract clauses that restrict what workers can do after they leave their current employer), and shifts in pay-setting policies. Each of these factors has the potential to impact employer market power.[2]
On February 27, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published its roadmap for 2024-2025 as every year,[1] outlining its enforcement priorities for the year ahead. The FCA emphasized the need to take action in the same key areas of interest as in 2023[2]: (i) the digital economy, (ii) sustainability and the ecological transition, and (iii) the protection of purchasing power.
On September 18, 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) published an initial report on AI foundation models (“FMs”).
Cleary Gottlieb partner Nicholas Levy and associates Anita Magraner Oliver and Conor Opdebeeck-Wilson co-authored the “European Union” chapter in The
Cleary Gottlieb lawyers have authored and edited Lexology’s Getting the Deal Through Dominance guide 2023, which addresses the most relevant questions on dominance and market power.
Cleary Gottlieb senior attorney Philipp Kirst contributed the chapter “The application ratione temporis of the Directive’s provisions and conflicting limitation periods under national laws” to the Research Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law in the EU, published by Edward Elgar Publishing.